The Detroit Lions and Houston Texan will close out their respective preseasons on Saturday afternoon at Ford Field. Both team are expected to rest their starters after a competitive joint practice on Thursday. That means that Saturday’s game will be all about depth, positional battles, and dozens of players fighting for their football careers. While the average football fan may not be as invested in those stakes, they are huge stakes nonetheless. And if you’re reading these words right now, something tells me you’re a little more intense than an average football fan.

So as the roster bubble players on...

The Detroit Lions and Houston Texans are ready to close out their entire offseason. With training camp over, all that’s left between now and the start of the regular season is the preseason finale, roster cuts, and a couple weeks of practice.

But don’t get ahead of yourself too quickly here. As the Lions and Texans prepare to create their initial 53-man roster and 16-man practice squad, Saturday’s preseason between the two squads figures to be a critical part of the evaluation of their players. You know how I know? Because Lions coach Dan Campbell said as much this Thursday....

Two well-coached teams, in the Detroit Lions and Houston Texans, squared off at the tail end of training camp for a crisp, competitive session, both with eyes on a prize bigger than back-to-back division titles.

I set my sights on the Lions defense while Jeremy Reisman provided his offensive observations. Here’s how Kelvin Sheppard’s unit fared against Nick Caley’s Texans. (For the full play-by-play, check out the Pride of Detroit Direct recap video from Thursday’s joint practice.)

First team defensive backs

The Lions’ secondary was finally at full strength with Kerby Joseph back in the lineup. He wasted no...

Ahead of every Detroit Lions game in 2025, we will provide readers with an updated depth chart of the team’s roster based on what we are seeing at practices.

For this preseason game against the Houston Texans, the Lions plan on continuing to rest their starters—they rested 28 players against the Chargers, another 31 against the Falcons, and 30 against the Dolphins—especially with another joint practice earlier this week. It’s also worth keeping in mind that in previous years’ final preseason games, the Lions have rested even more players than normal, giving bubble players extra time to show their value,...

The Detroit Lions just went through a total uniform overhaul in 2024, but they still have another twist in store that will be revealed in 2026, when their new “Rivalries” uniforms will debut.

In 2025, the NFL is launching a new Rivalries program with new alternate team uniforms and fan gear inspired by local communities. The first wave consists of eight participating teams coming from the AFC East (Buffalo Bills, Miami Dolphins, New England Patriots, and New York Jets) and the NFC West (Arizona Cardinals, Los Angeles Rams, San Francisco 49ers, and Seattle Seahawks). The Lions will be part of...

While we’re all eager to get to the regular season, the Detroit Lions still have a final preseason game to play on Saturday afternoon against the Houston Texans, and it’s critical for at least a dozen Lions players. As coach Dan Campbell said earlier in the week, there are plenty of positional battles still in the air, and Saturday’s game will be a huge part of their final evaluations.

“It’s going to be really, really tough, but that’s part of the game. That’s part of this whole process. There again, the good news is there’s another practice today and there’s...

The 2025 NFL preseason is coming to a merciful end for the Detroit Lions on Saturday afternoon. Detroit was one of two teams who saw their preseason extended from three games to four. On one hand, it was an opportunity for Detroit’s new coordinators to get used to the game-day operation and an extra chance for developmental players to get live game reps. On the other hand, it’s likely increased the team’s chances of injury.

Regardless, it all comes to an end at Ford Field on Saturday with a bout against the Houston Texans. While neither team is expected to...

If you were to ask players from the Detroit Lions, I am sure they would tell you that training camp has felt anything but short. Having began practicing back in July prior to the Hall of Fame game, the team has been at it for a while. However, just as quickly as it began, training camp wrapped up with one last joint practice between Detroit and the Houston Texans prior to their final preseason game on Saturday, August 23.

With only days to get down to 53 players on the roster prior to the start of the regular season, there...

Two players on the Detroit Lions’ defensive line who are expected to miss regular season time both gave optimistic updates to local reporters on Thursday.

Rookie Ahmed Hassanein, who suffered a pectoral injury during the team’s third preseason game, is expected to be out for “a while,” per coach Dan Campbell. The Lions coach also wouldn’t count out it being a season-ending injury. But on social media, Hassanein said he avoided the need for surgery. Then, after Thursday’s practice, in which Hassanein was standing on the sidelines, [he told Detroit Football Network’s Justin Rogers that his latest MRI revealed good...

By now, you’ve likely read our observations from Detroit Lions vs. Houston Texans joint practices on Thursday. And if you haven’t, do it right now. You could even check out our hour-long recap of the practice if you become a Pride of Detroit Direct subscriber.

But let’s step out of our own perspective for a minute. I think it always helps to see an outsider’s perspective on things. And while there were only a few Texans reporters on site in Allen Park—and they were mainly focused on Houston’s team—I do think they can provide a more balanced overview of practice....

There have been a lot of NFL analysts jumping off the Detroit Lions bandwagon this season after losing both offensive coordinator, Ben Johnson, and defensive coordinator, Aaron Glenn, to head coaching positions. But if you ask any national analyst or reporter who has been to Allen Park to see the Lions practice in person and witness the culture surrounding this team, you’ll quickly realize that the early offseason negativity was overblown.

Equally as supportive of the Lions staying firmly in the hunt for an NFL title is the fact that the good folks over at FanDuel Sportsbook have tabbed the...

The Detroit Lions and Houston Texans faced off Thursday morning for an iron-sharpens-iron practice. With both teams coming into 2025 with very high hopes, it was unsurprisingly a very competitive day for both squads.

I was focused on the Lions offense, while Al Karsten took notes on the defense. His post will come later in the day, but here are my observations from Detroit’s offense against a very competitive Texans defense.

Lions’ wide receivers battled impressive Texans secondary

The Houston Texans may arguably have the best secondary in football, so I was eager to see how Detroit’s star-studded receiver...